


Connections

by Sumthinelse



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: ABO dynamics with a twist., Androids, M/M, Other, sex bot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumthinelse/pseuds/Sumthinelse
Summary: Inspired by Sex and Circuitry series by Bunny West, Twisted_mind, and DiscontentedWinter and 'MCSZ-LW" by Bunny West
Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 19
Kudos: 67
Collections: Sex and Circuitry





	1. Peep Show

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [MCSZ-LW](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17551271) by [Bunnywest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnywest/pseuds/Bunnywest). 



> Just giving my brain a break before the school year starts next week.

Chris stood outside a small, derelict building in what was still called the meat-packing district. He supposed, in a way, it still was. Mostly seedy bars and roach-infested SROs, the neighborhood had a few factories that were always open, and a few pawn shops for ‘legitimacy’, but essentially ran on the peddling of flesh. Tonight, he was in the market for some, albeit something far more marketable than the usual fare. He had come to a building that had originally housed a pay by the minute peep-show. It had been serving as the business office for the sketchy real estate brokerage that owned all of the residential buildings in the area for the last ten years but had recently been purchased by a technology company. In the back of the building, between the dumpster and the loudly groaning HVAC unit, a red light glowed above an otherwise unmarked door.

“Asshole,” he muttered under his breath. Peter always had a flare for the dramatic, but the location had been chosen for more than the image. The neighborhood had very poor cell service and it was easy enough to turn a single-story building like that into a dead zone if you had access to the right technology, and Peter Hale did. He walked to the door and it was opened as he approached by a slender young man. In the dim, red light he looked like he was probably old enough to drive. Chris held out the shiny, silver card he’d received with his invitation and the young man scanned the barcode that was engraved on the back.

“This way, Mr. Argent.” The young man’s voice was low, which added a few years to Chris’s estimate, and the crooked smile in his slightly elfin face was…interesting. He led the way down a dark hallway lit with blue lights that lined the floor. The walls and doors were covered in chipped, black paint, but the decals that numbered the rooms in bright white appeared newer and cleaner. Chris’s guide stopped in front of door number seven and opened it. The dim light illuminated his face and gave it an elfin, sinister look when he grinned. “Please come in.” As soon as they were inside, the young man closed the door and they were alone. “I’ll need to search you.”

“Of course.”

Chris removed his jacket and handed it to the young man, who ran a wand up and over it before hanging it up behind the door.

“Hands on the wall, please.”

Chris turned around and grimaced as he placed his palms on the wall, but security was always very tight for events like this. He’d received invitations in the past and more since his last software release, but this was the first he was attending in over five years.

A surprisingly strong hand gripped the back of his neck and pushed him closer to the wall. “We had it cleaned today,” he said, and up close Chris could smell the chemicals that had been used to wipe away whatever sticky traces of bodily fluids had remained after years of being a 'real estate brokerage'. A foot surprised him by efficiently kicking his feet a little farther apart and he stiffened as hands ran over his back and shoulders. It wasn’t his first pat-down, but he was pretty certain it was the most thorough. The hands moved over his chest and belly, down his hips and legs, and up his inseam, cupping his crotch and ass before giving him a quick pat. “All set.”

“Was _all_ of that necessary?” he asked, drily.

“No. Would you like a drink?” The young man was unapologetic and apparently flirting.

“Scotch, neat.”

“Single malt?”

“Got anything older than you?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Chris walked to the chair and glanced at it. It appeared fairly new and smelled inoffensively like the same cleaner. He found it ironic that the first time he attended an honest-to-God peep show, it was for completely legitimate business. He ran a hand over his beard and then his shirt self-consciously. He rarely socialized in public and didn’t usually have to put a lot of thought into what he wore, but tonight it had bothered him that he hadn’t bought new clothes other than socks and underwear in over a year. He’d had to send his daughter out to shop for him. He’d also groomed his beard and made note of the amount of gray in it. He mentally shook himself, doubting his sanity for coming tonight.

The invitation had been from Hale Robotics R & D department; simply worded, it had mentioned the newest prototype in the android line that would start production the following spring. It was a sneak peek at the direction in which Hale Robotics was going. If he wanted to be one of the first to see a live demonstration of the latest in their patent-pending _responsive skin technology_ , he could join them for the evening. The invitation had been signed with a name he hadn’t been able to pronounce and had included the silver card. These events were always discreet, always anonymous, and always looking for more investors. The Hales had plenty, but everyone knew that you never invested your own cash in a new venture.

The door opened again, and the young man reappeared. He had that same crooked smile on his face and Chris wondered if he was the demo. It would suit the sense of humor of the Peter he'd known to let the investors interact with the demo before telling them it wasn’t human. The newest bots out there could fool a lot of people for a short time, but they still followed programming, and an engineer like Chris was rarely tricked. He looked closely as he was given his drink and noted something vaguely familiar about him.

“You work for Hale?”

“Which one?” he replied, rolling his eyes.

“Peter.”

“Not really,” he shrugged, and Chris felt a pang of disappointment. “The show should start in a few minutes. It’s five till Midnight.” He handed the older man a small, black box and left the room again.

Chris nodded. He wasn’t allowed a watch, or any other electronics at the show, but the box was for submitting questions. The clank of the window screen unlocking drew his attention and he put down his glass, shifting forward. The flutters of nerves in his belly triggered a little self-hatred. He knew it was beyond a long-shot. The Hales didn’t do their own demos, they had people for that. After all these years, however, he couldn’t help hoping. It had been a while since he’d even seen a recent photo of Peter and far longer since they’d been in a room together.

_“You should’ve had faith in me, Christopher.”_

In the darkness, Chris's eyes adjusted and he could see there was a very dim light coming from the low ceiling and, he could make out someone in dark clothing moving around a large shape covered in a sheet.

“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ll be your host for the evening.”

Chris’s stomach tightened at the sound of the familiar voice and he froze, eyes glued to the center of the room where a bright light suddenly illuminated a man in a well-tailored suit. The host smiled widely. The years had been more than kind to Peter Hale. He was still strikingly handsome, but he’d filled out in the neck and shoulders. “Thank you for meeting me at this location so I can show you the latest development in our newest line of A.I.” He stood beside what was obviously either a bot or a person standing very still under a plain, white sheet of fabric. With a flourish, Hale pulled the sheet off the bot.

“My God, Peter,” Chris whispered as his stomach dropped. “What have you done?”


	2. Ethics and offers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris gets an unpleasant surprise, and a less-surprising visit.

Ethics in the Bot industry could be tricky. No registered AI companies were willing to make FleshBots that looked like children; even among the competitive world of androids, no one was willing to cross that line. Otherwise people could customize them however they wanted. Because of the nearly infinite combinations of options on the Bots, the companies that made them had legal protections protecting them from lawsuits by claiming that people were not allowed to copyright facial features, not even their own. The exception to this was public figures whose likenesses were already trademarked.

The Bot standing next to Peter wasn’t an exact likeness to Chris, but it very closely resembled what Chris had looked like twenty years earlier. Clean-shaven with tousled, dark-blonde hair, tanned skin, and a bright white smile, the Bot slouched casually and tilted his head in a flirtatious way.

“His image can be altered to your own specifications, of course” Hale said, ruffling the young, Chris Bot’s hair. The Bot ducked shyly away and crossed his arms, tucking his hands under his armpits in a movement so natural, Chris doubted for a moment that it was really a bot. “That’s old news, though. What’s really special about him, is a much more natural response to touch.” He placed his palm against the Bot’s neck and the Bot leaned into him, slightly. As Peter caressed the Bot, Chris watched its chest rise with a quick breath and the blue eyes fluttered closed. “It loves to touch and be touched, it’s so sensitive and easily aroused. If you give it a little bit of stimulation, it’ll practically beg for sex.” He smiled proudly. “I present to you…The Omega.

“Our latest synth skin has hundreds of thousands of pressure receptors that have adjustable erogenous zones. Basically,” he said, lowering his voice to a loud stage-whisper, “ _if you fuck it, it will come_.” He unfastened the Bot’s pants and tugged them down, revealing the same cock Chris had been using to piss and fuck with for decades. It didn’t have as many grays in its pubes, which only made him more embarrassed. Peter took the manufactured organ in hand, and began to stroke, making the bot flinch under his touch. “This one’s been customized to be versatile and respond to genital as well as anal stimulation.” He took out a long, slender vibrator from a box on a small table that Chris hadn’t noticed. “It can self-lubricate, but that’s for custom orders only.”

Chris watched with a dry mouth as Peter explored the Bot’s body and talked the audience through every inch of it. An attractive flush grew on its cheeks and chest, which Chris admired from a purely scientific standpoint. No one had mastered such a subtle color change in AI. Its eyelids fluttered as Peter teased nipples, groin and ass with featherlight brushes of his fingertips over the curve of its hip, and under its arms where Chris was ticklish. He felt his own body responding to the memory of those touches on his own skin. After nearly two decades, he hadn’t forgotten how well Peter knew his body. Apparently, Peter hadn’t forgotten either.

Chris’s initial anger and embarrassment over his own image being used in front of an audience this way gave way to fascination. Peter didn’t touch the Bot like it was a machine, or a tool. He touched it like he _cared_ how it felt. By the end of the demonstration, the Bot was panting and trembling as it knelt, naked and vulnerable in front of Peter. He thanked the audience for patience and invited questions about the product. He reminded them that proprietary information would only come out after an agreement was brokered but that his assistant would be around to schedule meetings for the upcoming week if they wanted to use their boxes for inquiries.

Chris watched as Peter stepped away from the Bot, leaving it needy and desperate. Alone. Ignored. Standing in the dark, Chris felt raw and ragged as if his chest had been torn open and his soft innards revealed. He’d been sleepwalking through life for too long. He was no longer the sharp mind that kept his family business on-track. He’d given up his position and with it, he gave up living under the constant threat of Gerard and Kate’s interference. He’d grown slow. Soft. He’d missed things that the old Chris would’ve been looking for. Small things. Faces, names, people who he should’ve remembered, like the young man he’d met earlier. He drew himself up, and focused; he needed to get back into the game.

There was a soft knock at the door, and then the slender young man returned. He closed it behind him and leaned his back against it. No longer the coy, flirtatious brat, he dropped his chin and looked up at Chris with dangerously sharp eyes. In the soft blue glow, he looked eerily inhuman.

“Stilinski, right?” Chris turned his back to the peep show and tossed him the black box. He might be out of practice, but he was still Chris Fucking Argent, child prodigy who grew up cold and sharp. “Allison’s mentioned you,” he continued, not waiting for a reply. The slight flinch betrayed his accuracy, but Chris didn’t gloat. That was his father’s way, and it had eventually bitten him in his wrinkled, saggy ass. He didn’t scowl at the boy either, because he’d mellowed in his old age. He could say something flippant like ‘Thanks for the show’, or ‘I’ll be in touch’ and make an exit, but it wasn’t his style. Not anymore. He waited, there was a reason he was the first person Stilinski came to see.

“Did you have any questions?” he asked.

“Plenty, but none that anyone in their right mind would share without a contract.” Chris didn’t comment on the show, or anything else.

“Did you want to make an appointment?” He raised an eyebrow curiously. “I have access to the schedule. I can make one here and now. As a courtesy.”

“I appreciate the offer,” he said. Taking his jacket from the hook on the wall, “but I’m not speaking for a big corporation anymore.” He paused and looked at the boy. “Peter has a Hell of a team with him, I’m glad to see things worked out for him after Laura left.”

“They had different priorities after Talia died.”

“Better to go your separate ways than stay around until you’re at each other’s throats. Believe me, I’ve seen it.”

“Me too.”

“I hear she’s doing well in New York.” He reached for the doorknob.

“Can I interest you in another drink? The Q & A should be done soon.”

“No thanks, I’ve got somewhere to be.” He handed Stilinski his card. “If you need to reach me, Mr. Stilinski, don’t hesitate give me a call.” He held out his hand and the boy gripped it.

“A pleasure, Mr. Argent.” He looked disappointed as Chris took his leave. He returned to his car and picked up his phone from the cup holder, tucking it in his pocket out of habit. As he drove away, he thought about the first time he’d gotten to know Peter.

~

The memorial service for Chris’s mother was held several weeks after her death at one of the priciest hotels in the city. Chris knew the Hales in a professional capacity, and they were friendly in that same capacity. Peter was the younger brother of the current CEO, and made a solid impression with his handsome, square-jawed face, bright blue eyes and athletic build. He and Chris had been speakers at some of the same events but hadn’t socialized with each other outside of said events. When he’d approached Chris, given his condolences, and quietly offered to take him to a private bar, away from the cameras and most importantly his family, Chris had agreed. He’d been surprised when Peter took him to the Hale’s corporate suite in the same hotel.

“This is your idea of a private bar?”

“We’re paying for it either way, might as well use it from time to time and get our money’s worth.” Peter chuckled softly into his glass. He was twenty-four and had just finished his first year leading Hale along with his sister. Talia was the cool, steady CEO but Peter was the loud, brash, young face of Hale Technologies. He was aggressive and fierce in business, and his sharp, vicious wit skewered his critics. The Hales had coined the term ‘Luxury Technology’ and it’s where their focus lay. Everything from heated massaging slippers to smart homes was their domain.

Where Peter was fire, Chris was ice. Quietly intelligent and content to let his flashy sister take the spotlight. He had focused on school and learning how to build processors like his mother, while Gerard ran the business. Chris approached everything logically and tactically. Instead of bulldozing problems, he bored holes in them, relentlessly pushing his way through them until they were gone. He did admire the way Kate and Peter could command a room with their energy, but he knew it wasn’t for him.

“My sister told me last night that she was actually quite fond of your mother.” Peter’s gaze was earnest, but his fingers drummed on his glass. His energy was hard to contain.

“My mother liked to encourage bright minds, she spoke well of Talia and how she managed her time,” Chris replied. “You and your sister seem close, despite her being older.”

“Our parents worked so much, she had to help corral me when I was little,” Peter answered. “Do you and your sister have a lot in common?”

“Have you met Kate?”

“I have,” he said. “She put her hand on my leg at a charity luncheon. We weren’t even sitting next to each other, she had to reach over someone else.”

“Sounds like Kate,” Chris said with a chuckle.

“Does it sound like you?”

“I’m a little more subtle.” He finished his drink and set it on Peter’s sleek, glass bar. “Kate and I have very little in common, I pursue people because I’m interested in them, she does it for personal or professional gain.”

“I might be insulted,” Peter said, placing his empty glass beside Chris’s. “I thought she at least found me attractive when she flirted.”

“She’d be blind not to find you attractive,” Chris said, placing a hand on the back of his neck, “but it wouldn’t stop her from discarding you if someone else was more useful.” He tightened his grip and watched as Peter’s pupils dilated and his breathing caught in his throat. He might have been intelligent and bold, but he was still young and probably didn’t know what he wanted. Chris hunted his partners carefully, but he was uncannily observant.

“I think a lot of people underestimate you,” Peter said as Chris tugged him closer. “It’s always the quiet ones,” he whispered as the other man’s lips hovered over his.

Chris took control from the first kiss. He was neither rough or gentle, but he was deliberate and firm, even when his own breath was coming in quick, harsh pants. He wasn’t selfish, however and dropped to his knees, pulling Peter’s belt open and fly down. He’d felt the younger man’s erection and wanted it.

“Can I taste you?” he asked, keeping his voice low and smooth. He saw the surprised but eager nod from the younger man who gripped the edge of the bar. He licked the swollen tip of the swelling organ and sucked it down, taking him to the root. He heard Peter gasp and slid his fingers hesitantly into Chris’s hair.

“You’re gonna make me come like a teenager,” he gasped.

Chris didn’t answer but hummed and pumped the thick shaft and he suckled the head. He wanted to lose himself with Peter and forget about his family and everything else. He wanted to spend the evening making Peter come over and over again. This was just round one. He swallowed his reward when Peter grunted and squeezed his shoulder, coming in hot bursts. “Jesus,” he whispered as Chris cleaned him off and tucked him away in his pants.

“Bedroom?” he asked.

“End of the hall.” Peter looked slightly mussed, but Chris wanted him wrecked. “I might need a minute to recover,” he said, following.

“We’ve got time,” Chris said over his shoulder. The bedroom was minimalist and trendy with Asian-inspired details. There was a low, platform bed with a simple headboard in dark painted wood. He unwrapped Peter like a present. He took off his jacket, shirt and pants, running his hands over him with firm strokes. Now that the younger man had come, he was more relaxed and some of his confidence returned. He didn’t hide from Chris and stood naked and unashamed.

“Do you want me to return the favor?” he asked, reaching for Chris’s belt. Chris allowed him to unbuckle it and unfasten his pants while he removed his own jacket. He loosened his tie and pulled it over his head, He held it loosely in his hand as Peter knelt and saw his gaze flick to it a few times. He pushed Chris’s underwear down his long legs and licked his lips as he lifted the front of Chris’s shirt. He breathed out, making Chris twitch at the feel of his damp breath on his swollen flesh.

“Where do you keep your stuff?” Chris asked.

“Mini bar,” Peter said, not taking his eyes from what was in front of him. “We stock everything our clients might need. That means Lube, condoms, and gummy bears along with the usual booze.” He wrapped his hand around the long shaft; it was thick and swollen, but only half hard. He gave it a few slow strokes and ran a finger along the top, following the saddle curve. He glanced up at Chris and opened his mouth, maintaining eye contact as he brought the tip to his mouth and drew him in deep. He took him to the base on his second try, skillfully sliding the lengthy organ to the back of his throat.

“You look amazing,” Chris said, stroking Peter’s cheek. “There’s so many things I want to do to you tonight,” he said. “Will you let me?”

“Yes,” Peter said, pulling off.

“Get up on the bed,” Chris said, pulling off his shirt. “I want to get you ready.”

With the complimentary lube, Chris slicked up his fingers and spread the meaty, muscular cheeks and pressed a finger to the tight pucker between them. He had Peter spread out on his stomach, and he’d looped his tie around the younger man’s wrists, knotting it loosely. He’d told Peter to keep his hands over his head, gripping the headboard of the low bed, but hadn’t secured him to it. They hadn’t talked enough about it, and Peter hadn’t shown as much interest in the restraint as he had with the order. He worked him open quickly, rolling on a condom as he twisted his fingers until he found the sweet spot. He felt Peter clenching on his fingers as he added a second finger and brushed his prostate, over and over.

“Fuck!” Peter hissed, arching his back as Chris added a third finger.

“Do you need me to slow down?” Chris asked.

“No, I need you to fuck me,” he growled.

“When I’m ready,” Chris said, “I’ll fuck you through the mattress. Can you wait?” He paused and lowered his voice. “Can you be good?”

“Yes.” Peter’s voice had an edge of desperation and sweat had broken out on his back.

“You look perfect like this,” Chris said, smoothing a hand along his spine. “You feel so good. So tight and hot.” He reached between Peter’s spread legs and stroked his cock. He was getting hard again and ground himself into Chris’s hand. Chris doubled his speed, fucking his tight hole with three fingers and lightly, but persistently brushing his prostate on each push. Peter was trembling and hitching his legs wider, bending his knees and bracing his hands on the headboard to push back and meet the strokes.

Chris knew Peter was getting close again, and he wondered if he could get the younger man to come just from fucking him. This position wasn’t ideal for it, but he wanted this too much. He needed the control.

“I’m gonna come,” Peter gasped, and the way his toes were curling into his bedspread attested to his claim. Chris said nothing, but he slicked up his sheathed cock, gripped Peter’s hips and pulled them up. He held him open, pressed the head of his aching cock to the fluttering hole, and fastened a hand to the back of Peter’s neck. He gave a firm squeeze and pressed down, not shoving his face into the pillow, but pressing his shoulders down. He pushed past the first tight ring and groaned with Peter as he sank into the luscious, tight heat. He bottomed out in his first long thrust and rested, balls-deep with his hips against the younger man’s ass.

“Knew you’d be perfect,” he whispered, running a hand up his spine and shifting his legs, wedging his knees behind Peter’s keeping him open wide. He withdrew, sliding almost all the way out and immediately back in.

“I thought you were fucking me through the mattress,” Peter said, turning his face to the side as he panted.

“So impatient,” he said with a chuckle, but he went to work. He pulled out and added more lube as Peter squirmed before bracing his legs and shifting his weight, so his hands were on Peter’s shoulders. He picked up his pace, aiming downward, pleased when Peter arched his back and lifted his ass, tilting his hips up to receive each thrust. He could feel the younger man’s limbs trembling as he pounded into him, fast and hard. He squeezed his shoulders and let his weight down, bringing his face to the crook of Peter’s neck and shoulder.

“Chris,” Peter gasped, “Fuck! You feel so good,” He turned his head and Chris caught the edge of his mouth in a kiss. As he did, he slid his arm under Peter’s and gripped his throat, keeping his pressure on the younger man’s collarbone, not restricting his breath. With his weight on his elbow, he moved his other hand along the mattress until he could cup his palm around Peter’s hard, weeping cock.

“You close?” Chris hissed, hunching over Peter’s back to keep up his rhythm.

“Yes, keep…doing…that.”

“I’m gonna come so hard in your tight little ass,” Chris growled. “So. Fucking. Hard.” He jerked Peter’s throbbing cock with rough, fast strokes and felt him seize up, clenching hard as he let out a harsh cry. The added pressure finished Chris with three final thrusts. He panted into Peter’s sweaty neck and pressed soft kisses to the top of his spine. He worked his way down, pulling out slowly, holding the condom in place. He held his cheeks apart and placed a soft kiss directly on the reddened, softened hole before sliding off the bed, tying off the condom and tossing it in the trash can.

Peter drew his elbows under him and rolled to his side. He was breathing heavily and held out his wrists as Chris slid back on the bed beside him. Instead of untying him, he pulled the younger man close and ducked into the circle of his arms, settling his bound wrists at the back of his neck. Peter raised an amused eyebrow and chuckled tiredly as Chris kissed him.

“Is this how you usually use your tie?” he asked, voice roughened.

“I work at a computer most days,” he replied, rolling Peter on top of him and pressing his head back, keeping the bound wrists trapped. “I don’t wear ties very often.” He pulled Peter’s knees to either side of his hips and stroked his thighs. He looked over the younger man’s sweaty face. “You okay with this?”

“I’m okay.” Peter said after a pause. “I’ve done my fair share of experimenting, and I had a girlfriend in college who wanted to handcuff me to her bed once.”

“How did it go?”

“Pretty much the way sex with her usually went,” he said with a shrug, “she took off her top and I came a minute later.” He chuckled with Chris’s loud laugh. “I was barely nineteen, she was my first steady girlfriend, and my wrists probably weren’t the best place to squeeze if the aim was to make me last longer.”

Chris lifted his head and brought Peter’s wrists in front of him. He loosened the binding and watched as the other man flexes his wrists and rubbed them lightly.

“Did I tie you too tightly?” he asked.

“The fuzzy handcuffs were tighter,” Peter replied, lightly.

~

Chris returned to his empty home and sent Allison a text to let her know he’d made it back in one piece from ‘Sketchville’ as she’d called it. His condo was dark and still, and he walked inside. He had no time for lawn care, or maintenance, and he liked his place, it was in a very nice neighborhood, it had a spare bedroom for when his daughter and son-in-law visited, and a roomy office for his work that would hopefully be convertible into something else soon. It was enough for him. His life right now was enough. Or it had been when he woke up that morning. He didn’t bother to turn on any of the lamps, as he tossed his keys in their bowl by the door, kicked off his sensible shoes on their mat and walked in his stocking feet past the kitchen to the master bedroom. He removed his coat, sniffing it but deciding that no matter how careful he’d been, and no matter that he’d only worn it for two hours, the peep show was so scuzzy that he wouldn’t wear the coat again until it was cleaned.

Chris picked up the remote control and set it back down. He usually turned on a cooking show or something on home design for noise, but tonight his instincts told him he wouldn’t need it. Twenty minutes later, he heard the front door open and for a moment, his heartbeat picked up its pace. Maybe it had been too risky, leaving it unlocked. It could be an opportunistic thief, but it was unlikely in this neighborhood. He waited in his bedroom and snickered when he heard the freezer door open. Then the clink of ice cubes in glasses, and the hollower clunk of the bottles on the bar being lifted and replaced.

“I made yours neat.”

“Thanks.” He waited until the silhouette appeared in the bedroom doorway. “I wasn’t sure you’d be there in person.”

“But you went anyway.”

“Yes.” He waited, but Peter didn’t say anything else, instead he walked forward, placed two glasses on the bureau before crossing to the window. He turned on Chris’s reading lamp with the amber glass shade and sat in Chris’s armchair.

“Reading for pleasure these days?” Peter picked up the paperback laying open on the arm of the chair. He glanced at the title and put it back before looking up and meeting Chris’s eyes. “You’re looking well,” he said.

“You look amazing.” Chris said it without much intonation. It was just a fact. Peter looked better than most guys his age. Not younger, but better. He decided to start with honesty; he owed Peter that much. “I went tonight because I thought there might be a chance of seeing you in person.” He went to the bureau and picked up the Scotch Peter had poured for him. 

“Here I am.” Peter spread his hands out and wiggled his fingers in a silent ‘Ta-Da’ motion. “What would you have said to me if I’d greeted you in person?”

“I didn’t have a plan,” Chris replied, sitting at the bench that rested at the end of his bed. “I only made the permanent move a few months ago.”

“It’s been eighteen years,” Peter said. “It’s a long time to hide, why come out now?”

“Between you and me?”

“Of course.”

“Allison’s pregnant,” he said. “I sold my flat in Paris when she told me they were going to start trying. She told me a few weeks ago that they’d been successful, but they’re waiting until twelve weeks to make an official announcement. If everything goes well, senior staff will find out on the first of next month.”

“I know,” Peter said, rubbing his chin. He raised his eyebrows at Chris’s surprised expression. “McCall works for a tech company but seems to forget, like everyone else, that _nothing_ is private on a work computer.” He saw Chris’s frown and put up his hands. “I wasn’t snooping, I was putting a few meetings on his calendar, and I saw the ultrasound appointment.” When Chris stayed silent, he put his hands up in innocence. “I also warned him that the whole office would know if he didn’t use some kind of code for it on his schedule.” He relaxed when Chris nodded.

“I appreciate your discretion.”

“Allison’s a sweet girl,” he said. “I’m guessing she doesn’t…know.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“About you? No, I don’t think so. She knows I date men sometimes. She was fine with it, of course.” He raised his eyebrows. “I heard some rumors about you a few years back.”

“Malia.”

“You didn’t mention her.”

“I didn’t know.” Peter’s face fell a little and his lips tightened into a thin line. “My first serious girlfriend in college.”

“Fuzzy handcuffs?”

“You remember that?” Peter chuckled. “She tried to trap me in more ways than one.”

“Are you serious?” Chris watched Peter take a large gulp from his glass and wince.

“She approached Talia’s attorney instead of me, and for reasons I never heard, my sister decided not to tell me I had a child.” He was silent for a few moments. “She threw an NDA at the girl and offered her a very generous trust that was managed by the same attorney. She and Malia would have their needs covered, and they would be relatively unrestricted, only as long as I didn’t find out.” His lips pressed together in a bitter line. “Talia lived another five or six years before the crash, and she still never told me. Didn’t even hint about it.”

“How did you find out?”

“I got a phone call from the attorney. He told me that someone I knew in my youth was gravely ill, and that there was ‘something to discuss’. I met with him and poof, look who’s not just an uncle.” 

“She look like you?”

“She’s gorgeous, it’s enough.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, standing up. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders but hates publicity. She was raised with privilege but grew up in the middle of nowhere; by our standards she’s practically feral.” He turned on the screen and held it up. Chris set down his glass and took the phone from him. A lovely young woman with dark hair and dark eyes stared back from Peter’s home screen.

“She is beautiful,” he said and handed the phone back. “She’s got a bit of Talia’s look. Allison favors my mother,” Chris said.

“Thank God,” Peter said. And Chris raised his eyebrows. “The eyes would have been striking, but the beard wouldn’t have suited her.” He ran his hand over Chris’s jaw. “It suits you, though.” His gaze was hot now.

Chris grabbed Peter’s wrist in a crushing grip and wrapped his other hand around the younger man’s throat. He pushed him back against the wall and held him there.

“Was Scott working in the same office where you were building a FleshBot modeled on his father-in-law?” he asked.

“Are we doing this now?” Peter asked, grinning widely. “No foreplay?”

“You baited me with this invitation,” he growled. “Do you hate me that much, Peter.”

“McCall’s a biologist, he can’t go near my lab,” Peter said. “Too much proprietary information. I built the bot from the customizations we already had; I only put the skin, features and airbrushing on in the last few days.” He shook his head. “Not that it wouldn’t serve you right.” The last comment filled Chris with rage, and he shook a finger in Peter’s face.

“ _I’m_ the one who went to bat for Derek when Kate came out with her allegations. That was before I knew what had happened. I’m _also_ the one who went after the truth and turned her and my father in, even though it gutted my mother’s company.”

“Yes, I read the articles about how the quiet, studious, honest brother who was only ever interested in writing software rose out of the muck and took the helm after the scandal hit.”

“I’m not going to apologize for trying to save what my mother built.”

“You should’ve known what your father and sister were doing.”

“You’re really going to say that after what you told me about Malia?” He bit the words out, and Peter smirked.

“Touché.”

“You never knew why your sister would conceal something like that from you? Well, I never thought Kate would go that far.”

“You’re the one who warned me about her the day we…got to know each other.”

“Ruthless in business and manipulative is one thing, but it made no sense for the rest of it. Not at the time, anyway.”

“How’s she doing these days?”

“I cut personal ties with her when she went to jail and I keep tabs on her in Canada.” He looked away. “You probably heard about my father.”

“I did.” He didn’t offer condolences but looked thoughtful. “Did you have time to unpack your decades of baggage while the old man was in the clink?”

“Plenty of time, no inclination.” They shared a grim smile, and then seemed to remember why they were there. “Why did you do this?”

“First and foremost, I’m about to make a half a billion dollars in the next three years with the technology. The nervous and circulatory systems are so complex they need their own OS. It works fine with the OS for the mechanical movements on the more innovative frames we’ve built for this Omega generation. But,” he began, and got a calculating look in his eye, “I’ll nearly triple that if I can get the Beta generation mechanics to interface with the new skin.”

“Why?”

“The Omega is unique, like the Alpha models we first came out with. Also, prohibitively expensive. We won’t sell enough of them at what they’re worth, so we want to put the new skin on the Betas and make them the affordable option that more people can afford with the newest upgrade.”

“Will people still get the Omegas?”

“Even with both the new skin and the flushing, the Betas just can’t compete with the Omegas for how sensitive, and almost needy they are. It’s the most responsive AI ever built. They practically beg to fuck and get fucked.”

“How much surplus do you have right now?” Chris asked and Peter’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Okay, we weren’t expecting the recession and China’s decision to blatantly knock off our design and even the images.”

“I’ve seen _Expectations versus reality: FleshBot edition_.” Everyone had, it was hilarious. “I can’t imagine it lasted long enough to still be a problem.”

“No, but the recession was. They priced it high enough to make people believe they might get a half-decent knock off, but not so expensive that they’d pay return shipping to China.”

“That always happens during a recession.”

“Preach.”

“That’s why I sold mom’s company.”

“You sold it?” Peter looked genuinely surprised. “When?”

“Five years ago, I started Arrowhead.” He sipped his forgotten drink and ignored the burn of the amber liquid. “That’s why I told your boy that I wasn’t interested in investing.”

“I had no idea,” Peter said. “And He’s not my boy. He’s a biotech engineer who is one of the reasons why we made out breakthrough. Why isn’t it public knowledge?”

“I sold it to a management company, but it was still too soon after what happened, so they bought my name. Technically I’m still the president, but my sole responsibility is Arrowhead.”

“Does Argent own Arrowhead?”

“No, I do. I rent space in the building, but we’re legally different entities.”

“What about the patents?”

“I own the patents but they have a lease on them so they can’t try to turn around and sue me for using some of the same methods I invented when I launch my new OS for companion bots. That’s all I do now, software, not hardware.”

“How close are you to marketing the new one?”

“Another year. I can work on an interface in the meantime.”

“Feel like a test?”

“What did you have in mind?”


	3. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of the present and a bit of the past.  
> To explain pronouns: Bots are machines and referred to as 'It' until their OS is installed and they are given a gender and identity. Even rudimentary personalities are programmed. The AI is advanced, but sometimes the nuance of human speech can be difficult to comprehend, so if a male or female identity is given, they would be confused if someone referred to them in a different way. If a gender fluid identity is given, 'they/them' would still be expected rather than 'it'. I only make a brief reference to it, but it may come up later as important.

“I want you to work here on one of our older models with upgraded skin and get the second OS to run in tandem.” They were sitting in one of the meeting rooms at HaleTech. Chris was there with Jordan, his attorney, and Peter had his own representation, a weaselly man named Harris. 

“That’s fine, but it will be much faster if I can work in my lab.” Harris rolled his eyes, but Chris ignored it. “You’ve got state of the art stuff here that handles all aspects of the bots, but my setup at home is designed for OS.” I know it’s not ideal, and I’m willing to work with you, but it will get you to your goal in less than half the time.”

“We need to be protected,” Harris said.

“And I’ve never been hacked because I work off a closed system.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “I can understand your concerns, I’m just giving you the options.”

“Why don’t we see what you can do over the weekend?” Peter asked. “We’ll get a bot sent over, and we’ll have a representative from Hale with you to answer any questions and also to make sure our prototype is secure. We’ll also have discreet security there.”

“Agreed.”

~

“I brought a chef instead of just dinner.” Peter stood at Chris’s door beside the Omega prototype which was holding a seven-foot crate. Peter carried a bottle of wine and a reusable tote from the expensive, organic market down the street.

“So I see.”

“Chris, this is Jack. He will be cooking for us while we’re working together.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Argent.” The bot’s voice was deep, but it wasn’t Chris’s, and somehow it made him feel a little better.

“Nice to meet you, Jack.” He gave Peter a look that the other man pretended not to notice. “Come in.” Chris stood back and let the Omega carry the crate inside. Peter hadn’t dialed down the hydraulics on the Omega the way many owners did, so it was at its full strength potential as it easily wrangled the wooden box and set it down in the kitchen.

“My office is down the hall, I’m all set up,” Chris poured a cup of coffee and offered one to Peter who accepted. They watched as Jack opened the crate with his hands and gently brushed away the packing material. As the bot was revealed, Chris rolled his eyes. A younger version of Peter stared up at them with lifeless eyes.

“Doesn’t it bring back memories?” Peter asked as the Omega prototype gently lifted the naked, unanimated bot from its crate and carried it to Chris’s home office; Chris was at a loss for words. “Oh come on, why not have a little fun with them?”

“You came in person?”

“I was one of the main designers on the Omega. I know it inside and out.”

“Did you bring the prototype just to do the cooking?”

“Now that I have your John Hancock on an NDA, I’m happy to let you at him. You can put him through his paces and feel him out.” He wasn’t hiding his creepy glee. “For the sake of comparison.”

“I’ll examine him, but you don’t know me at all if you think I’m…putting him through his paces.” He wrinkled his nose. “Oddly enough, I think you should market him to the megalomaniacs out there.”

“I know of several who’ve ordered their doppelgangers.” He raised an eyebrow in a significant way.

“Duke?”

“I’d never tell.”

“You really upped your customization game with the Psi series.” Chris looked at Jack as he came back into the kitchen.

“Do you want me to get started on dinner?”

“Salmon with lemon and dill sound okay?” Peter asked, looking at Chris. “I found some new potatoes and some good asparagus.”

“Sounds good, shall we go take a look at the Psi?”

“The frame and mechanics are the original model.”

“It’s an Alpha?” Chris was surprised.

“It’s been the most consistently reliable. The frame is heavier, but I’ve never heard complaints about the joints locking up. They’re practically indestructible. Other than the weight, it’s superior to the Beta in every way.”

The Hales and Argents both had their strengths in the AI industry. The Hales had focused on luxury items for two generations. They were all about bells and whistles, and most people had their software running on their coffee machines and climate controls. Under a subsidiary, they’d developed exclusive, intuitive sex toys. The Argents, on the other hand, had developed more advanced robotics that were categorized as companion bots. They hadn’t resembled humans back then, but they’d been able to complete more complex tasks like preparing food, cleaning, even feeding and taking care of pets.

The Hales’ luxury sex machines became interactive, and their profits grew exponentially because their workmanship and attention to detail was legendary. When the unveiled the original FleshBot, no one else in the world had come closer to a more lifeline android. Their main function was sex, but they were interactive enough for companionship. The Alpha model had been a revolutionary development with its intuitive processor that could learn. The Beta model had more lifelike gestures and movements, more options for programming, and were lighter weight with better executive function and a longer battery life. The subsequent models-Gamma through Psi-had mostly been upgrades on the Beta processor, and a few design tweaks. People still tended to think of them as just the Alpha and the Beta versions. But now there was an Omega.

Chris led Peter to his office and got started; as much as he liked to think of Peter as a spoiled brat, the man knew his hardware. Soon, they were both engrossed in their work and Chris started loading the OS into the Alpha model who Peter named Patrick. Chris casually rested a hand on Patrick’s hip as he plugged in the drive carrying the most current update to the OS. He stretched his neck for a moment and caught himself rubbing the soft skin with his thumb. He glanced up, quickly and caught Peter’s eye.

“The skin feels smoother than the last version,” he said. “It’s really good.” He turned Patrick towards him and ran a hand up the abdomen, pressing gently. “Flattered yourself a bit,” he said.

“That was me as a Junior in college,” Peter corrected, with a touch of a chill in his voice. “I played rugby and was too busy with schoolwork to drink.” They hired a security guard to post outside the condo and they locked up the bot for the night as the program loaded and ran updates. Chris had started with an older version of the OS because it would talk to the older hardware, they’d update it until it bugged out, fix what they could, and then go to the next version of the OS. With AI, the simpler software ran more effectively because of the detailed design of the intelligence.

Peter followed Chris up the stairs with a yawn and they stopped at the guest bedroom. Chris had changed out the sheets and tidied it up since the last time Scott had crashed after a late night at the lab. Jack bade him goodnight and casually ran a hand over Peter’s ass as he walked in behind him.

“You’re not-” Chris stopped when Peter turned around with a wicked grin.

“I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t use my own products,” Peter said. “Besides, it’s good to get as much testing in as possible before it hits the market.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Chris took a mild sleeping pill and went to bed. “Hey Buddy, play some ambient noise.” Chris’s condo sported cutting edge smart home assistance tech that he’d tweaked himself. Not all of it was his design, but the OS had been what had saved his mother’s company from ruin after what Kate and Gerard had done. Nearly everything in the home that could be programmed was programmed to his preferences from his coffee maker to the security system, and the OS went by ‘Buddy’, because he couldn’t be bothered to name it anything. He lay in his bed, listening to the sound of waves as the sound rose and fell gently, and tried not to hear anything else.

~

“I wish I could stay in a place like this forever,” Peter said with a yawn. He needed a trim and his wavy hair hung in his eyes. The hotel room was as forgettable as the others. Bland and unremarkable, it served its purpose: clean sheets, away from the main road, catering to business travelers and employees with short memories. Chris stood by the window and looked at the parking lot and the highway in the distance. He hadn’t slept; he rarely did when he and Peter met up like this. Peter claimed it was a shame to waste the amenities, but Chris thought it was worth it just for the privacy.

Groaning, Peter rolled out of the large bed and joined Chris at the window. He stood behind him, one hand resting on his shoulder-they weren’t huggers-and pressed his lips to the back of Chris’s neck.

“I didn’t think this place was your style.” Chris asked, not looking at Peter.

“It’s quiet, with phones shut off, no office politics, no family, no advanced machines.” He sighed heavily. “Talia treats me like I’m always ‘Available’ for work. If she can find me, I’m fair game. _Some_ people would prefer a fishing cabin in the middle of the woods for their solitude,” he grumbled, poking at Chris who smiled, “but for me, this makes a better hiding place.”

“You should try working for my father,” Chris mused. “I had to take up hobbies that bore him in order to have an excuse to get away.”

“You don’t actually have to do them, right?”

“Six weeks of painting classes that Kate “coincidentally” dropped in on because she’s ‘in the area’. She doesn’t even pretend she’s not spying for him.” He curled his lip in disgust.

“What’s _today’s_ hobby?”

“Botanical Gardens membership. I even have paints and an easel in my trunk.”

“Pre-painted canvas?”

“It’s a work in progress.”

“Why’s she so hell-bent on butting into your life? You can’t be the only employee who is in a same-sex arrangement.”

“She’s my father’s mirror,” he replied, sipping the cheap Scotch from the mini bar. “She can’t create, she can only imitate.”

“What does she do in the company, exactly?”

“She’s a poacher, or a spy, depending on what Gerard needs.” He shrugged. “She’s great at finding young talent, courting them and then getting them to sign away all their ideas.”

“She’s a viper.” Peter shuddered. “She practically got to second base with her foot during the meeting with your father and my sister,” he said with a dry chuckle. “You should’ve been there.”

“If I suddenly start showing up for meetings, they’ll know something’s up.”

“Would it be so bad?” Peter asked. It wasn’t the first time he’d bristled under the need for secrecy.

“I don’t think my father would care that I like men,” he said with a shrug, “I just think he’d use it as leverage because Victoria would use it against me in the custody agreement.”

“You should go off on your own after that’s finished,” Peter said, running a finger down the cold glass. He reached over and brushed a chilled finger over one of Chris’s nipples. It was enough to distract him from his thoughts and he turned, catching Peter’s hand and pulling him in for a kiss.

“I like what I do, and trying to run a whole company, even a small one, would take me away from the work I love.”

“You’re single-minded, like Derek.”

“How does he feel about the internship so far?”

“He hates it,” Peter said, gleefully. “He’d rather work with your guy in programming, but I reminded him that he has to learn how the departments work so he can see the bigger picture when he comes back to work for us.”

“He’s a bright kid, I’m doing my best to keep him off my father’s radar.” He shuddered. “He’s quiet enough and young enough that my father thinks he’s just there to fetch coffee for the programmers. Even at sixteen, I think he’s got some great ideas. Once he sees everything, he’ll settle in with programming.”

“I’m getting some ideas of my own,” Peter said, turning Chris around so roughly that he spilled his Scotch. He pushed Chris against the window and yanked his boxers down, so his bare ass pressed against the cool glass. Chris’s protests were lost in a breathy moan as Peter pulled him into his mouth. He hardened up quickly under the younger man’s skillful tongue. Burying his fingers in wavy hair, he thrust gently into the hot, wet, cavern of the other man’s mouth.

“Jesus you can suck dick,” he whispered, reverently. It had barely been an hour since their hurried, impatient mutual hand jobs, so Chris didn’t pull him off right away. He wouldn’t come as quickly the second time, and he could enjoy this for a bit and maybe even come while Peter fucked him.

~

Peter was moaning and grunting, and Chris fumbled for him, trying to give him what he needed, but a different voice cried out suddenly, and he opened his eyes. Buddy had shut off the ambient sound after an hour, and now the place was silent except for the sounds from the guest room. Groggy from the sleeping pill, he got out of bed and opened his door, quietly. There was faint light coming from the guest room and he skillfully avoided the creaky spots in the floor until he could see into the room. Peter and Jack were both facing the door, but Peter’s head was hidden behind the bot’s. He was spooned behind Chris’s youthful doppelganger with a hand firmly on his hip and yanking him back onto him. They both writhed and Jack had reached behind him to grasp Peter’s hair. He made eye contact with Chris.

“Mr. Hale!” the bot gasped, “Uh, Mr. Argent!”

“You were right the first time,” Peter replied.

“No, he’s here.”

“Maybe he wants to see you come,” Peter shifted and bit the side of Jack’s neck, leaving an impressive red mark that was visible in the dim light. Chris sucked in a breath and walked into the room, initially aroused from his dream and the noises, but more curious now. He dropped to one knee in front of Jack’s chest and reached out to run a finger along the bot’s throat.

“That’s amazing,” he whispered, lifting his own gaze to meet an identical one. Unnerved, he looked away and reached for the lamp. With the light, he could see patches of skin where Peter’s hands had left their mark, and the overall flush of the chest and cheeks which was paler, but still very pink.

“Lift his leg, for me,” Peter said, panting. Chris complied without really thinking about it, gripping Jack’s knee and pulling it upwards. Peter grasped it and pulled it up and back over his own leg. “He’s actually got a prostate, right, Jack?”

“Yes,” groaned the bot as the leg movement changed the angle and Peter started ramming.

“Watch for the flush, it happens right before he comes.” Chris looked at the rising redness climbing the bot’s chest along with his growing moans and rapid breathing. Jack reached back to grab Peter’s hip.

“Don’t stop Mr. Hale,” he groaned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Peter retorted, mildly. And then the bot ejaculated onto the side of Chris’s face, hitting his ear and getting its pseudo-spunk in his beard.

“Jesus.” Absently rubbing at his ear, he watched as the bot’s balls had tightened up and saw the pulses and contractions in the shaft of the dick that looked far too much like his own. “You’re an asshole,” he said to Peter who was laughing, “but that was amazing.”

“What did you think?” Peter slapped Jack’s thigh.

“You were great, Sir.” Both humans cringed a little.

“Okay, I haven’t added much to his repertoire yet, I was more concerned with the subtle responses to touch.” He slid out of the bot, cock red and hard and slick with lube. “I programmed him to respond to my physiology, and to become aroused when I get aroused.” He sat up and let Jack fall onto his back. “Unfortunately, I left out the part where an erection can happen while I’m sleeping, so I woke up to him sucking my dick.” Peter was still flushed and hard. He took off the cock ring that Chris hadn’t seen before.

“You sleep with that thing on your dick?”

“No, but in the middle of the night, I don’t have much stamina, and I wanted to put Jack through his paces.”

“How long has he been operational?”

“A few weeks. Stiles and Derek worked with him before I customized his skin, got the bugs out, and I got him last week. We worked on our presentation.”

“You didn’t get him off during the demo.”

“Lydia Martin’s idea. She thought it would leave the audience on edge, and make them subconsciously sympathetic to the bot.” He patted Jack’s shoulder affectionately, and then reached over to pull his other shoulder towards him. Jack rolled obediently towards Peter and scooted down. “Finish what you started while I was sleeping,” He said, and slid his fingers into the bot’s hair.

“He’s even a little sweaty.”

“That’s courtesy of Vernon Boyd. He’s a genius with sweat, saliva and tears.” Peter lifted his leg and planted his foot on the mattress with his knee pointed upwards, and Chris’s eyes drifted to his cock. He was struck by the very visceral memory of _being_ Jack as the bot reached for Peter’s hips and pulled the erection into his mouth. “I’ve almost got his grip to be perfect,” Peter said in a lower voice, eyeing the front of Chris’s pajamas. “I can’t quite convince him to leave bruises.” Chris swallowed and turned away.

“I’m going to wash the bot-jizz off my face.” He went to the bathroom and used soap. The fluid was silicone-based, like the self-lubing fluid in the mouths, vaginas, and some anuses of the bots. It was just after four, so he decided to go check on Patrick. He could set up the next set of updates if this one worked, and felt his belly tighten when he glanced into the guest room as he walked towards his office. Peter had both hands on Jack’s head and looked like he was ramming his cock down the bot’s throat.

Chris sat in his chair and brought Patrick online. A few minutes later, his guest sauntered in, wearing a pair of sleep pants. He didn’t say anything when Peter dropped into the chair behind him, he just continued working on the computer. The updates were successful, so he switched Patrick on, and the bot came to life.

“I’m grabbing a shower,” Peter said.

“You can get more sleep if you want,” Chris replied, “I’m probably going back to bed for another hour once I run a quick check on him.”

“I’ve got bot lube on me,” Peter said with mild distaste, “I’ll sleep afterwards.” He left and Peter looked into Patrick’s blue eyes and waited for the moment when they went from empty to focused.

“Good morning, Chris,” Peter’s voice said, and Chris chuckled.

“Good morning, Patrick,” he replied, since all programming came with basic courtesy guidelines. “Can you move around okay?” He unplugged the drive and closed the hatch. Patrick went through his basic self-diagnostic and jacked his cock a few times, looking at the front of Chris’s pants. His erection had gone down, but he was still a bit engorged, and his over-tired, overstimulated brain got its wires crossed when looking at a familiar cock and his own gave a hopeful twitch.

“Yes, I seem to be functional.” Chris heard the shower turn on in the guest bathroom.

“Come over here and get down on your knees.” He spread his legs. “Is this your first time?”

“It’s my first time with a human,” he replied. “I was tested for pressure sensitivity when I was created.” He smiled coyly, “I’m still a virgin.”

“Peter put a lot of work into you.” Chris ran a hand over the face and hair, and although Patrick didn’t respond with the same sensitivity as Jack, it was still beautiful craftsmanship. The circulation should work fairly efficiently if they got the OS synched, but neither it nor the touch responses would be as sensitive as the Omega. The Omega had an army of microscopic sensory receptors built into its subdermal layer for every dozen that the Alpha had. It was built to _feel_. 

The Psi models were more sensitive and might react better, but the Alpha’s programming was more like the Omegas and it had a better chance of running a dual OS. If it worked, they would try the Psi next.

“Show me how well you can suck dick.” He pushed his fingers into Patrick’s mouth and let the bot go to work. Its-Chris corrected himself for the installed identity- _His_ training was rudimentary, and it showed, but after several minutes the quality of the AI became apparent, and he started to learn. “God, you’re amazing,” he said as Patrick varied his pressure, slowed down

“Thank you.” Peter was standing in the doorway. Chris had been so distracted he hadn’t noticed his guest returning.

“Even with an older version of your OS, the AI is so advanced.” He slipped his fingers out of Patrick’s mouth and urged him to stand up. “I can see the difference between them, the Alpha and Omega, but the Alpha has a more intuitive processor.” He looked up at Peter. “You don’t make any of these anymore?”

“Not exactly. We don’t use these heavy frames in any of our bots, and that’s why we had the more advanced processors with customizations, you can get close, but this unique design can’t be copied and sold again.”

“Why not?”

“I like the exclusivity.” He leaned against the doorway. “And Talia’s will gave me the right to decide what happens to this particular model.” He patted Patrick fondly on the shoulder.

“Is that what caused the split with Laura?”

“When I told her that the original bot lot was all I’d authorize, she said it was like getting her throat torn out.”

“A bit dramatic.”

“Talia did want Laura to take the helm someday, but she wasn’t ready, and I’m not sentimental enough to let the company go down that path due to inexperience.” He shrugged, “I was still dealing with Derek, and Laura wanted leadership, it was best to buy her out and let her stretch her wings.” He nodded to the computer. “Why don’t you get Patrick loading the first Beta OS and prime the next set of updates. Then get some more sleep. I’ll have Jack do your laundry; he needs the practice.”

Chris took Peter’s suggestion. Although he was used to working long hours, he couldn’t afford to screw things up during a test run because he’d only had a few hours of sleep.

“Wake us up when he’s finished updating,” Peter said to Jack who nodded.


	4. Memories are made of...

“It’s not possible,” Peter said to Chris who was standing in the foyer of the massive Hale mansion. “Derek is as non-violent as they come. He doesn’t have the kind of hate, or the kind of entitlement that enables…that kind of thing.” His lip curled when he said it, unable to actually speak the word.

“I know Derek’s a good kid,” Chris said. “I think there’s so much more to the story than what she’s told the police because it makes no _sense,_ but I can’t see her fabricating this for no reason. However brutal her tactics are, she’d never put the company at risk by making a false statement, and she’d never draw negative attention to the company. I can’t even see her as being morally bankrupt enough to do this unless there was some kind of financial gain, but she barely knows Derek.” Peter looked extremely distraught. He was still wearing the suit he’d had on when he’d posted Derek’s bail, and his hair and skin looked oily, like he’d been running his hands through it. Chris went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, so accustomed to physical affection when they were alone. Peter relaxed a little.

“Cora’s flight lands in an hour and Laura’s only just gone to bed.” For a moment, they were _them._

“You must be exhausted.” He hugged Peter; In the weeks since Talia’s death, the man had been too busy trying to hold things together with his nieces and nephew and the company to do more than talk on the phone. Their relationship had evolved to a include a strong friendship along with the physical side. “How are you holding up since…”

“I know they’re not babies anymore, but Cora’s only eleven. I offered to get a tutor to help her out here, but she said she wanted to go back to school and not be in her mother’s house.” He shook his head. “Talia ran the company but made sure she was there for her kids after David died.” He stepped back and gave a small laugh. “I loved thwarting her parenting like a good, _bad_ uncle is supposed to.” He sagged a little against Chris and the older man held him. Then he straightened up and stepped back. “There’s no logical explanation for this right now that makes sense to anyone, but I believe Derek didn’t do this.”

“I know you do, and I understand. She’s my sister, Peter, and as awful as she is, I can’t turn around and say I don’t support her allegations without having some kind of reason to think she’d lie about this.”

“There is a reason,” Peter said quietly. “I can’t give you any details yet, but there’s a very good reason why she might do something like this. I need you to back Derek up.”

“Can you tell me anything at all?”

“No, you’ll just have to trust me.”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. “My father just made that speech to the press on behalf of the company about how it was started by his wife and that she would be horrified about this happening. If I make any kind of statement that’s not supporting my own sister, or if I call her character into question, I’ll look like a misogynist who’s slut-shaming her. I can’t do that until I know more.”

“So, you’ll let her lie about Derek?”

“Derek refused to make a statement, he won’t give an alternative story, and he hasn’t even denied it.”

“I need you to trust me on this.”

“And I can’t call Kate a liar without having some kind of proof.”

~

Chris slept until almost ten and woke with a slight heaviness to his balls. He groaned in frustration. He was pushing fifty, and he was getting blue balls like a teenager. He’d been so long without a partner that he’d been living like a monk for close to a year. Seeing Peter caressing his likeness, and then waking after his dream about Peter to watch him with Jack had made him hard but left him unsatisfied several times. He should’ve just jerked off, but he’d been too distracted by the realistic bots, so he’d ignored his arousal, letting it pool in his groin. Apparently his second ‘morning wood’ of the day proved too much for his epididymis. He laughed bitterly and got up to attempt to empty his bladder. He was feeling his age as he was more resentful of an erection for interrupting his work than pleased that he still had them.

After his shower, Chris had coffee and breakfast made by Jack, and got back to work with Peter. They made progress and got Patrick halfway through the updates before they hit any snags. Chris had been looking forward to being able to justify working from his home and started troubleshooting. Unsurprisingly, he found that the issue was in the nerve sensors. He bypassed the problem and got Patrick online as Peter came back from his run.

“Good timing, I’ll need your help with this part,” Chris said.

“Can we get some pants on him?” Peter asked. “I’m feeling a bit exposed.”

“You?” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t look _exactly-_ ”

“I don’t want the comparison!” Peter snapped indignantly, blotting his face with a towel. “He has a wardrobe, you know.”

“Well, he shouldn’t be covered for this next part. We need to find out which of his nerve bundles isn’t getting a signal.”

~

Using a microneedle tool that looked like a small paint roller with a pressure sensor in it, Peter rolled it first all over Jack’s body. The Omega had undressed so the engineer could reach every inch of him and the sensory processors entered the data as soon as the needles were rolled over his skin. Then Peter smirked as Jack’s breathing got a little faster. He giggled when it was rolled over his armpit.

“Ticklish?” Chris asked.

“Authenticity.”

“Cute.”

“I always thought so.”

When it was Patrick’s turn, the Alpha stood naked with his arms out to his sides. Chris found the first deficit behind his left shoulder with a corresponding one on the right. It wasn’t a large spot, so they made a note and moved on.

“Lie on your backs,” Peter ordered. After they marked a spot on the heels, and along the hips that lacked some sensation, the two bots lay back on the floor while holding tablets on their chests for the sensor readouts. As instructed, they held their knees up and legs spread with feet on the floor. The Alpha didn’t self-lube, so Chris added some to his fingers, rested his hand on Patrick’s knee, and rubbed around the tight pucker. Peter rubbed Jack’s balls and then around the sphincter. Peter had a few hairs there, but Jack’s were either lighter and finer, or he had none except for public hair and some on his legs. “I’m going in, two fingers, all the way. He pushed inside and Jack let out a soft gasp.

Chris slid two fingers inside Patrick and marveled at the warm, tight channel the gripped him. Patrick grunted and the readout hit a discomfort level, so the man backed off, added lube and went in more slowly.

“Thanks,” the bot said with a sigh.

“I’m at his prostate,” Peter said, and Jack was squirming, flushed and sweaty. They did a full exploration and although he tried his best to hold back, Jack was nearly begging when they were through. Patrick’s hole got redder and he had an erection, but he didn’t seem as bothered. “No prostate, unfortunately, and he’s not programmed to ejaculate, but he’ll make noise and contract when there is a penis inside him that starts to do it.”

“No other way?”

“Same deal, he can penetrate, and his feedback protocol reads the sphincter, vaginal or anal, and when he senses impending orgasm, he intensifies.”

“A lot of people like sucking dick.”

“And they can do it for as long as they want, he'll get hard, and can be programmed to fake an orgasm, but the owners can set the oral and manual stimulation timer if they want to suck or jerk him off for a long or short time.”

“You couldn’t modify the sex organs for ejaculation?”

“We can. If this works, it’ll be worth the extra money we’ll pay Stiles for his upgrade.”

“Stiles is your sex organ guy?”

“Mechanical engineering background, he’s our cock master.”

“Does he know you call him that?”

“He made us put it on his name badge.” Peter was dead serious. “What’s the point of being a manufacturer of the best FleshBots in the world if you’re ashamed of your work?”

“Speaking of ejaculations…” Jack said, reaching for his dick. “Let me know when you’re done with us.”

“You’ve only got one thing on your mind,” Chris said.

“It’s all I know,” Jack moaned, miserably. The bot was growing on Chris. Despite the resemblance, the personality was completely different. Just the fact that he had a personality at all was impressive. He wasn’t even that polite.

“How are you feeling?” Peter asked Patrick.

“I’m okay, I could fuck, but I can wait.” He rubbed his balls.

“Jack, Patrick, take a break, you can do what you want, but don’t mess with anything sharp till we get you figured out, Patrick.” Peter glanced at each of them as he spoke. “Christopher and I are going to go back to his office.”

The humans took the tablets from the naked bots and went back to Chris’s office. They loaded it up and Chris was a bit proud of Peter’s surprised exclamation when the readout from the sensors rendered a 3-D version of the bot and the nervous system.

“How do you do that?”

“The algorithm knows what the components are, so it renders each layer and then can digitally subtract each layer or system.”

“This is why you didn’t want to work in my lab.”

“I’ve got proprietary stuff here too. That’s why I got you to sign an NDA as well.”

“That’s right, we can say or do anything, and neither of us can say a word about it.” Peter smiled brightly.

“Admit it, you’re waiting to punch me in the mouth.” Peter started to say something but turned away like he’d heard something. “What?”

“I think we might’ve left Jack with too many options.” He’d always had ears like a wolf. He moved quietly out into the hall and Chris followed. Once away from the hum of the computer’s cooling fans, he heard it.

“Yeah, yeah, just like that. Oh, yeah!” Peter walked down to the master bedroom and opened the door. Chris was right behind him, and he realized that Jack hadn’t been programmed with a lot of shame. He opened his mouth to say something, but Peter held up his hand to stop him. So they watched.

Patrick was straddling Jack’s thigh with his other leg up on his shoulder. He was thrusting into the Omega steadily and tirelessly. For a moment, Chris admired the way the bodies flexed and moved fluidly, so human. Jack’s toes were splayed out and his foot flexed. Then he saw their bodies and features and he was dragged back in the past to a night when he and Peter found each other in Arizona at the same function. They’d been unable to ditch their dates easily and had dashed out to Peter’s limo for the fastest fuck they’d ever had.

~

“Fuck me,” Chris whispered when their mouths parted, and pushed a tube of lube into Peter’s hand. “Hurry, my date’s taking a bath and expecting me.”

“Okay.” Peter didn’t argue, he just tore open his trousers as Chris worked his down over his hips. He didn’t even take them off, Peter was already pushing his fingers inside him and he groaned. “You’re so tight, when was the last time you got fucked?”

“You were there,” Chris said with a hiss. Peter’s eyes didn’t leave his, intense even in the dark, and Chris braced his foot against the window as Peter pushed in to the hilt. “Jesus, Fuck!” He grunted.

“Need me to stop?”

“No, just like this!” Chris panted and started jerking his cock. “Do it.” Peter started thrusting and felt enormous as he forced Chris open. Folded up like this, he was nailing Chris’s prostate with each thrust and the older man gritted his teeth after barely a minute. “Fuck! I’m gonna come!” He pulled Peter down for a kiss. “Come inside me, take off the condom, I want to feel it.”

“Fuck!” Peter fumbled as he pulled out and then pushed in, smooth and hot and rammed hard, coming as Chris tightened around him. He pumped his lover full, jerking and twitching, and lunging up the catch his mouth in a kiss.

~

“Move his leg up,” Peter said dispassionately, walking in and to the side. Chris followed and Patrick obliged by pushing Jack’s leg up and arching his own back, letting the men see the thick, hard cock sliding in and out of the Omega’s slick hole. “Self-lubricating is one of the best things ever,” he said with a sigh. Then he started directing them to slow down and change positions, despite Jack’s whines, and Chris saw even less of a resemblance to himself. Chris had always been stoic and quiet unless talking dirty to Peter.

“Come on, Mr. Hale!” Jack was panting but Patrick looked smug and satisfied. That was very much like young Peter.

“You can take it like a good boy, can’t you?” Peter asked.

“Yes,” he moaned, and Patrick moved his limbs around so that Jack was chest to chest with his arms around Patrick’s neck, but with his legs spread wide and hooked over Patrick’s elbows.

“Stand up, Patrick, but keep fucking, just do it slowly, and bring him over here.” Chris found he rather liked the whimper Jack made. Patrick rose effortlessly as he lifted and lowered the Omega, sliding him up and down his pole. He walked over in front of Peter who moved his fingers down to rub at Jack’s hole. “Bet I could stick a dildo inside you right now and you’d love it,” he said, and Chris bent down to see where he was pushing two fingers inside the Omega next to the Alpha’s cock.

“Your cock’s right there,” Jack snapped, “You could just stick it in if you wanted to.”

“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”

“Who’re you calling little?” Jack turned his head indignantly and Chris laughed. After seeing and hearing so much sex that reminded him of how long it had been since he’d been laid, his own cock was plumping up a little.

“Bend him over something and make him come, Patrick.” The Alpha nodded and slid the Omega off his cock, then, without warning, he shoved Jack face-down over the arm of Chris’s reading chair.

“He’d better not ejaculate on my upholstery.”

“It wipes right off,” Peter said as Patrick shoved Jack’s face into the cushion and started ramming his ass like it had personally offended him. Jack was…jacking his own dick and came with a loud cry. “Make him clean you off.” Chris was surprised, since this, along with his other orders seemed to be designed to teach the bot a lesson. And while yes, they learned, they only did what they were programmed to do. Jack made a squeak of pain when Patrick yanked him by the hair and shoved him to his knees, pushing the still-hard cock into the Omega’s mouth.

“We need to talk,” Chris said, quietly.

“Away from the kids?” Peter gestured to the bot fucking the other bot’s face. Chris raised his eyebrows and Peter rolled his eyes. “We’ll be back. You two get dressed.”

“Yeah, Mr. Hale.” Jack spit out the cock and stood up.

“What is it?” Peter asked when they got to the office. Chris pushed him back against the door and put a finger in his face.

“I knew you were up to something, Peter, but using a bot to act out some kind of revenge fantasy against me? That’s pretty low.”

“Fantasy? I fucked you plenty of times.”

“Maybe, but we both know who was really on top.” He surprised himself, and Peter when he grabbed him by the throat and kissed him. He ended it just as Peter started to respond, and the younger man looked pissed.

“A lot’s changed, Argent!”

“Bullshit!” Chris snarled, finally fed up with being the last one to know anything. “You’ve been pushing my buttons for a week.” He shoved Peter down to his knees and fished his throbbing cock out of his pants. The heat of the other man’s mouth engulfed him, and he groaned like he drank the first glass of ice water after a long walk in the desert. It wasn’t just that his mouth was warm, wet, slick and he could suck dick like a demon, it’s that is was Peter’s mouth and he couldn’t talk while he was sucking. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as the suction increased. “Gonna come in your mouth, and you’re gonna swallow it.” He felt his balls, aching and full, start to tighten up. He emptied down Peter’s throat and the younger man took it without a sound.

“Feel better?” Peter rasped as he stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Almost,” Chris spun him around and shoved him against the door again, pinning him there by the back of his neck while he grabbed the lube from his desk drawer. When you lived alone, it was handy to keep close. He let go for a second to squirt it onto his fingers and then pressed up close, locking his arm tightly around Peter’s neck, tight enough that the younger man gripped his arm, reflexively. Chris shoved the hand down the back of Peter’s jeans and probed between his cheeks. “You clean?” he asked.

“Yeah, this morning,” Peter groaned as Chris started to push inside. “Took your fucking time, by the way.” Chris tightened his arm around Peter’s neck and he just grunted ad Chris twisted his fingers.

“You wanted memory lane. So this is Santa Monica, after that fight we had.”

“Outside the club.” Peter’s voice was a whisper.

“Let’s see if it still works,” he growled, dropping his voice. Using two fingers he fucked Peter, hitting his sweet spot each time. The sounds coming from the younger man seemed more about the roughness than the aim. Chris pressed his face close to Peter’s ear. “You gonna come in your pants?”

“Yeah,” Peter grunted and arched his back, clenching as his body jerked. Chris slid his fingers out and released Peter’s neck. They both caught their breath and Peter rubbed his throat. “You’re not going to apologize now and say you shouldn’t have done that, are you?”

“Have I ever done that?” He opened the door and went to the bathroom to wash the lube from his fingers. Peter followed him in and turned on the shower.

“No, I don’t suppose apologizing was something you tended to do.”

“I apologized to Derek. Publicly. And to the Hale family on behalf of my sister and father.” He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you remember the settlement?”


	5. Beacons and Bots...And dicks.

Chris managed to get the AIOS installed and working far better than he’d have been willing to estimate. He’d found and eliminated all of the bugs so far, but they’d reached the point where the processor just didn’t have the speed and memory to handle the higher level software. He was tired and rubbed his eyes as Peter stood silently in the doorway.

“I think we should back up a couple of steps. The processor runs on update seventy-seven, but it’s starting to struggle. It had better overall performance on Seventy-two, and the last few don’t actually make enough of a difference for the slower processing speed.”

“Get some sleep. I’ll take it back to Seventy-two and we’ll run some tests.” Peter had been quiet since…stuff. Chris’s brain was too tired to think. He glanced at Jack who stood with his head bent and with a crooked smile. He was backlit by the morning sun, and Chris couldn’t see the features, just the posture and the edge of his mouth. There was something familiar about it, but his bed was calling him. He’d burned through the night, and now he needed to crash before he broke something. He patted Peter on the best when he walked by.

“Thanks, let me know if you have a problem.”

“I can handle it for six hours.”

Chris managed to brush his teeth but forgot to take his toothbrush out of his mouth before he tried to command some ambient noise and gagged. He spit and chuckled with the giddy lightness of the sleep-deprived. He was out of practice; he didn’t used to have much of a gag reflex. He fell into bed and to his surprise, Jack was there, helping him out of his pants.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, Mr. Argent.” Jack was efficient and gave him a slight grope with made Chris chuckle. “Want me to take care of that for you?” He cupped the reflexive erection that grew in Chris’s pants.

“No thanks, you’re a little too young for me.”

“I’m almost _two_ ,” Jack scoffed.

“I figured you were Scott’s age.”

“Nope.” He turned around and pointed behind him with a thumb as Chris kicked his legs under the sheet and blankets. “Want Patrick to come in?”

“I don’t care, I just need some sleep.”

Chris rolled over as Jack asked Buddy to play ambient music. Chris put in earplugs as well, and found his muscles a little twitchy and achy, he was too uncomfortable from fatigued muscles and aching joints to fall asleep. He guessed it was nearly thirty hours since he’d last slept, but he couldn’t leave the work unfinished. He owed Peter…

~

Chris’s attorney would have murdered him if he’d gone near Derek, so he didn’t. He went back to the office instead and locked himself in his lab. He’d designed their security software, so he was able to access the security footage. To his surprise, it looked like some were missing. He saw no updates on the log, so there should have been no interruptions, but there were gaps, here and there that added up to about nine hours of footage combined. He checked the cloud storage and discovered the same gaps. A niggling thought in the back of his head started to bother him. He closed his eyes for a moment and controlled his breathing. He needed to think without bias and find the problem. Something wasn’t right.

Chris was sometimes too focused to see the forest for the trees, but like his mother, he had a gift for picking up details and filing them away until later.

“Mr. Argent!” The first reporter to spot him was fastest on his feet, but the rest were close behind.

“Chris! Chris!”

“Mr. Argent!”

“Christopher Argent.”

“Hey, Chris!” He hated it when they addressed him casually, as if they were his friends. Still, he paused near the foot of the stairs and they surrounded him.

“I’ll answer a few questions, but then I need to leave. Keep your questions concise and brief, I won’t respond to people attempting to put words in my mouth. Is that clear?”

“Have you spoken to your sister?

“Have you seen Derek?”

“Has anything like this happened before?”

“Do you believe the allegations?”

“Are there any new products coming out on the market? Will the trial affect them?”

“I said, is that clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Argent. Did you have any personal contact with Derek Hale during his time at your family’s company?” This question was asked by an intelligent and poised-looking older woman. He focused on her. “Melinda Gage, L.A. Times,” she said, quickly. “Did you work with Derek Hale?”

“Yes. I approved his internship and spoke to him regularly.”

“What were your thoughts on Mr. Hale?”

“Derek is a bright young man. From what I saw he was a conscientious worker.” He paused and so did the reporters who waited for him to say more.

“Have you spoken to your sister?”

“Not today. I’ve been told she’s resting, and I don’t believe she’s feeling up for visitors right now.”

“Were you friends with Derek Hale?”

“No.” He paused. “That’s all. I need to go now.”

“Do you believe your sister is telling the truth?”

“I believe the police will complete their investigation and that justice will be served. Good night.” He walked back inside and went to the garage where his father’s car was waiting. He pulled up his phone and started texting as he got in.

“What did you say to the reporters?”

“Not to put words in my mouth. I answered a few questions. No I’m not friends with Derek, yes, I hired him, no I haven’t seen Kate yet.”

“There’s no need for you to make statements to the press, I can handle it.”

“You come of as insincere.” He didn’t bother to look up from the screen. “You couldn’t show concern for Kate’s welfare if the company depended on it.” He could tell his father was seething. “Seriously?” He looked up from his phone. “Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?” He had a brief satisfaction of seeing surprise on Gerard’s face for a brief moment. “If you took anything from Derek’s computer and plugged it into anything here at the lab, I will booby trap your lamp to electrocute you.” He let his anger out, and it was very real, but for a different reason.

“What are you talking about?”

“Derek was a prodigy in A.I. If Kate stole any kind of proprietary software from him and brought it back here, it could take down our entire system.” He leaned forward, do you have ay idea how much work and money that will cost us? Not to mention if he has a trojan horse he can steal from us.” He knocked on the window and the driver lowered the divider. “Take me to the hospital where Kate’s staying.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Chris.”

“You’re the salesman, you let me handle the software.” He sneered at his father; he’d let the man think he cared only about his own work. “I’ve put decades into building this new AIOS, if Kate loaded a trojan into our mainframe, and I can’t kill it in time, I’m turning her over to the police myself.”

“You can’t go barreling into her hospital room,” Gerard growled. “There’s reporters everywhere, they need to see a united front.”

“The second that kid talks, people are going to know what happened.”

“Why were you at the Hales’ yesterday?”

“Because I’d heard that the fifteen-year-old prodigy I hired for an internship was accused of beating and raping my sister. Why the Hell do you think?” He shouted.

“Why did they let you in?”

“If Kate was a better spy for you and bothered tailing me at all of the software workshops I have to go to each year, she’d know that Peter and I have been friends since Mom died.”

“I’ve never seen you together.”

“You don’t attend the functions either.”

“You’ve never respected what your sister and I do for the company, you think your processors will sell themselves?”

“It’s not your work I didn’t respect, Gerard. You and Kate are the ones I never respected.” He looked at his phone again. “Stay the Hell away from the lab tonight while I try and clean this up. Go and pretend you actually give a crap about your kids and bring some flowers to the hospital.” He called Victoria. “Hi there. I’m sorry, I’m sure you’ve heard on the news…I haven’t spoken to her yet, I’ll wait till she wants me to come see her. Yes, I’ll tell her you’re thinking of her, thank you. Yeah, can you hang onto Allison this weekend? I don’t want her to be around this. Of course. I appreciate it. Yeah, camping is a great idea. Give her a kiss for me.” He hung up.

“You’re still friendly with Victoria?” Gerard’s lip curled. He hated that Chris and Victoria had divorced because of her family connections, but now that they weren’t married anymore, he hated her even more. Chris was scorching the earth, so he decided to twist the knife even deeper.

“Unlike you, I want what’s best for _my_ daughter, so Victoria and I make sure to remain civil.” He saw minimal reaction to the insult. It figured that the old man was more sensitive about Chris questioning his mental faculties than his parenting.

“Kate will be fine.”

“Now that I’ve seen the security footage, I’m sure she will.” Gerard’s eyes flickered to his. “Did you seriously think that a fifteen-year-old prodigy wouldn’t have a hidden camera? Did Kate?”

“Where is it?”

“I hacked his server, but I can’t get into his cloud storage. Derek’s keeping quiet until Kate’s got enough rope to hang herself, or he’s waiting to get whatever she stole from him back.”

“I’ll go to the hospital and bring your sister some flowers.”

“I’ll go. Whatever she took can’t be found on her. It’s a ticking time bomb and she’ll have far bigger problems if the police find it on her than she’ll know what to do with.” He paused when his father flinched. “What? Please tell me she doesn’t have it in her purse, or something stupid like that.”

“It can’t be destroyed,” Gerard said, tossing a tiny metal square at him. He caught it and looked at it.

“What is it?”

“According to Mr. Hale, it’s going to revolutionize A.I.”

~

Chris woke up to the sensation of a warm mouth on his cock. He groaned, partly because it felt amazing, but also because he hadn’t had enough sleep. He flopped onto his back and patted the lump of covers that rose and fell over him as the suction increased. He honestly couldn’t tell if it was Peter or Jack under the covers and he wasn’t sure which he preferred at the moment. Jack would be creepy, but less smug. He just closed his eyes and let it happen.

“You’re an asshole,” he said out loud. Either Peter was standing outside the door and gleefully listening, or he was under the covers. “This is isn’t fair, I’m pushing fifty.” He fucked up into the hot cavern and pulled the head down, coming in hard spurts. “I’ve maybe got two in me per twenty-four hours without a Viagra.” He pulled back the covers.

“You were tossing and turning like Linda Blair in the exorcist,” Peter said from between his legs. “I couldn’t get anything done with all the moaning and groaning. I came in here and there it was,” he patted Chris’s dick, “like a lighthouse rising from the hills.” He patted his balls.

“Drew you in, huh?”

“Like a beacon in the night.” He crawled up, pushing Chris’s shirt up and peppering it with kisses. His own naked erection ground against Chris’s thigh. He pulled him up for a kiss, deciding that the taste of his post-sleep mouth couldn’t be worse than Peter’s at the moment. This was how it had always been with them. Big chunks of time between when they were together. Numerous arguments and petty disagreements via text in their time apart and frantic, passionate coupling when they could find the time.

“What prompted this?”

“I talked to Derek this morning. He wants you to bring the bots to his when you’re up and ready.”

“Not the lab?”

“Derek doesn’t…he mostly stays at his place. It’s like yours, set up how he likes it.” Peter rolled his hips against Chris. “I always liked you this way.”

“Too tired to fight you off?”

“Too soft to hide your affection.” It was true, half-asleep, Chris was more of a cuddler. “You’re like an octopus at night, and a giraffe during the day.”

“A what?” Chris laughed. “How am I a giraffe?”

“I can’t think of a creature less-suited for hugging than a giraffe.” He rubbed a hand over Chris’s sleep-rumpled hair. “Plus you have these two horn-things going on. It’s like you were breakdancing in your sleep.” Chris rolled them over on their sides and tucked his head under Peter’s chin for a moment, breathing in their combined scents as he caressed Peter’s bare skin. He moved his hand down for a grope of the younger man’s ass.

“Love this ass.”

“Too bad you’ve already spent half your daily allotment of hard-ons.”

“You could’ve ridden me,” he said.

“That would’ve ruined the surprise. I certainly couldn’t come in here wearing a sheet like Casper the ghost.” Chris laughed at the image and scooted down. “Ohhhh yesss,” Peter sighed as he pulled the younger man’s leg up and rested his head on it as he took the thick cock into his mouth. He pulled Peter’s top leg up to his ribs and caressed his ass, squeezing the cheeks and rubbing against his hole. To his surprise, the man was slick with lube and he groaned when Chris pushed two fingers inside him. His hips rocked and he slowly fucked into Chris’s mouth and back onto his fingers. “You’re killing me,” he moaned when Chris wouldn’t go quickly.

Eventually, once Peter was sweaty and impatient, Chris pressed down on his prostate and sucked him deep, making Peter come down his throat with a grunt. Peter joined him in the shower, more because he was unwilling to wait any longer before talking about their projects.

“How long has Derek been working on Jack?” Chris asked, rinsing his hair as Peter soaped up his back.

“The software was just completed a month ago, and I told you the skin was added just recently.”

“Yeah, updates maybe, but Jack said he was two years old.” Peter stopped rubbing his shoulders, briefly and Chris turned around, pushing the younger man under the spray. He lathered up his hair and washed behind his ears.

“Some parts of him are two, I’m sure.” Chris let the matter drop.

“How does Derek feel about marketing?”

“Kinda funny about it, really. He doesn’t want Jack available to the public.”

They went to the Hale building, and Chris was surprised when Peter took out a key fob and used to access one of the restricted floors. Chris had assumed they were all for security, and for tech support, but he was surprised when the elevator doors opened to what looked like a residential hallway. Derek’s apartment was directly below his lab. Peter rang the doorbell but used his fob to let himself in. Patrick and Jack were dressed and walking with the humans, and Jack pushed past to walk inside.

“Home sweet home,” the bot said.

“Welcome!” Stiles appeared and waved, wiping his hands on a towel. Chris stared at him as he waved them in enthusiastically. Jack went in for a hug and Stiles flinched for a second and then hugged the bot. “New skin, buddy, I’m not used to it yet.” He hugged the bot who kicked off his shoes and went through to the living room. The space was quite large for the city, and Chris guessed it had been modified rather than built originally as a residence.

“You guys live here?”

“Short commute, and Derek won’t sleep or eat if someone’s not on him about it.” Stiles shrugged and gave Patrick’s ensemble an appraising look. “Nice, Peter, very nice.”

“You should see him naked.”

“I have,” Stiles replied, “I made his junk.”

“Christopher thinks he should ejaculate.” Peter took off his coat and hung it on the doorway and Chris did the same. They took off their shoes since there was a pile of sneakers by the door.

“I just wondered at the possibility,” Chris replied, “not everyone wants the mess.”

“Derek?” Peter hollered as they got to the living room. Despite the space, it was pretty minimalist in design and decoration, and Chris saw a certain similarity to his own dwellings. Little in the way of living comforts, but a crowded, upscale office.

“This was originally the master bedroom,” Stiles said, leading them down the hall where they could hear the hum of computers and the fans that cooled them. “Bedrooms are off to the left and right.” Stiles’s bedroom was obviously the one with furniture, a stereo, a plant, and some lamps. Derek’s had a mattress on a simple platform and two lamps that didn’t match. It was neat, but plain. They moved on to the office where they found Jack facing a tall chair.

Chris hadn’t seen Derek in person in years. When the chair turned and he stood up, he was surprised. Derek was tall and muscular without an extra ounce of fat on him. His hair was clean and damp, but it needed a trim and he hadn’t shaved in a few days.

“Mr. Argent,” His bright, intelligent eyes were focused, and he smiled widely. “It’s good to see you.” He held out a broad hand and Chris shook it.

“Call me Chris. It’s good to see you too, Derek.” He glanced at Jack. “I’d been admiring your work, you’ve done an amazing job with him.” Derek glanced briefly at Jack and away again.

“I’m not used to seeing him with the new skin on,” he said with a shrug. He snickered at Patrick. “This guy looks like the asshole who dropped me off with the wrong baseball team for little league try-outs.”

“They let you pitch.” Peter held up his hands, defensively.

“It was a completely different district.”

“Their team was better.”

They got down to business and went out into the living room. Chris and Derek got into the meat of the discussion while Peter and Stiles talked about the mechanics of the bots. Eventually Chris nodded to Jack.

“Was he running around naked with his wiring hanging out?” Chris asked, and Derek laughed.

“Peter told me what he did, I wouldn’t have let him do it if I’d known before he was already installed in the new body.”

“Was Jack originally in a different frame?”

“We had out working model here, tweaked over two years to get it just right, and then built a new one. The AIOS was unique so we had to put his chip in the new body.”

“Do you have the original here?” Chris took out his glasses and put them on.

“Uh, Jack, come with me, Buddy.” Derek got up and Jack followed him into Derek’s bedroom. Stiles and Peter looked at each other for a moment.

“He didn’t want to see him deactivated. He’s just in the closet.” Stiles bit his lip. “Don’t say anything about the appearance.” Chris was confused.

“The personality and movements are unmistakable,” he said, but Stiles made a frantic ‘abort’ gesture.

“Derek doesn’t…” he trailed off for a moment when the original Jack walked into the room. “Welcome back, Jack!” He smiled as the bot’s original body came back with Derek, and Chris tried to hide his shock. Peter gave him a warning kick.


	6. Happy endings. (Heh)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just wrapping things up.

The likeness wasn’t exact, and with the airbrushing and custom molds for faces and skulls, it could have been, right down to each mole and freckle. Derek seemed more relaxed with Jack sitting beside him.

“Thank you so much for lending Jack to us,” Chris said, smiling at Derek. “I get very protective of my work, and it’s nowhere near as precious as Jack.” Derek nodded and smiled.

“Sure, I know how important it is to get the older models up to snuff with the new tech.” Derek’s earlier quirks had seemed pretty normal for a guy who spent most of his time in front of a computer screen, but seeing the slight changes in his posture, expressions and demeanor brought the bigger picture into focus.

~

“Derek has severe social anxiety,” Peter said when he and Chris were back in the elevator. They were bringing Patrick up to the lab to deliver him to the team. “It’s unusual that he meets anyone who isn’t on the team, but he wanted to see you again, he thinks very highly of you.”

“Stiles started to say something about Jack’s appearance.” The elevator doors opened, Chris followed Peter through the lab, and waited while he delivered Patrick to a tech who led the bot away. He motioned for Chris to follow him to his office. It was glassed in, but when Peter hit a button, it went opaque for privacy.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” Peter said. He sat in his chair behind his desk and motioned for Chris to sit across from him.

“I assume Kate was the reason for the change.”

“It was a combination of things, but yes. I think the loss of his mother was far more devastating, and to follow it up with what happened with Kate, he stopped trusting himself.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I’m still angry with her, and sometimes that bleeds into my feelings for you.” He said it bluntly, and without emotion. “You really _did_ save the day. I don’t think the police would have found enough evidence, and Derek had just shut down, so he couldn’t give his side of the story.”

~

“Mr. Argent?” Chris had just stepped outside of the apartment he was renting when the voice surprised him. He’d been hounded by reporters to the point where Victoria rented him an AirBNB so he could have privacy. Derek Hale looked mostly like he always had. A bit tall, with slightly goofy ears, and a ropy toughness to his limbs that indicated a missed calling in athletics.

“Derek?” Chris glanced around.

“Peter’s not here,” the boy said. “I came alone. Can we talk for a minute?”

“Of course, do you want to come inside?” Chris offered Derek coffee, but he declined. They sat across from each other at the quaint little table that went with the quaint décor of the quaint cottage. “Should I bother to ask how you found me?”

“Probably not.” He cleared his throat. “You told the police what you found.”

“Yes.” His sister and father had been bailed out by their attorneys and were circling their collective wagons.

“The charges against me were dismissed.”

“I’m so sorry Derek. I had no idea what she was planning, or I’d have tried to stop it.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“I wanted to tell you what I was working on.” The scratches on the boy’s cheek were still visible, and they looked shiny, like someone had put ointment on them. “I’ve been wanting to work with you for a long time, and when I realized you and Peter were friends, I begged him to put in a good word.”

“I’d be proud to work with someone like you, and if you ever need a reference, I’ll make the calls personally, but I can’t possibly ask you to work for me. Not after what they did to you.”

“I understand, and you’re right. I shouldn’t work with the company again. It would raise questions.”

“It’s a shame, I think you were one of the brightest minds I’ve ever worked with.”

“Same.” He and Chris both chuckled. “I know, I haven’t worked with a lot of people yet, but I meant that I followed your career.”

“My mother was like you. Gifted and brilliant in ways that were blinding.” He shifted on the stylish but uncomfortable bar stool. “She taught me to recognize gifts, not just the obviously and profoundly gifted people like you but seeing the big picture.” He poured himself a coffee and texted his assistant, telling her that he’d be late. “She taught me how to be observant so that I wouldn’t miss the forest for the trees.”

“What do you mean?”

Chris spent two hours talking with Derek over the coffee the boy finally accepted. They talked about the ways to recognize the qualities that made a good worker, and the ones that completed a team. How you couldn’t have a good team just by getting five people who were all strong in the same areas. You had to get people who could lead, and the ones who could be led. You had to temper the ambition with people who inspired patience. He told Derek how he saw the world and how he’d trained himself to see the small details. He apologized to Derek again and the boy left. Chris got in his car and drove to work. Later that day, he talked to the lawyers and made a deal with his family, and with the D.A.

~

“You made the deal for more jail time?” Peter looked surprised

“Partly selfish. My mother ensured that Argent led the pack in A.I.; I couldn’t let Kate and my father dismantle the company to buy their way out of trouble.”

“Where did the money for Derek’s settlement come from?”

“Kate’s trust fund. I also sold everything she owned and threw that into the lot as well.”

“Poetic.”

“Tell me about Derek.”

“Despite Derek being publicly exonerated, there were a lot of people who believed Kate’s original story. Derek was inundated with threats and people said terrible things about him and to him online. He stopped wanting to leave the house, and eventually had a breakdown when people vandalized his mother’s grave.”

“I didn’t know about that, I’m sorry.”

“Derek loved the work, but hated leaving his home, so I made him a safe space. It was the least I could do for Talia.”

“Does he ever leave the building?”

“Rarely, and only in certain ways and to certain places. Inside the building he interacts with people and he’s become more social as the years went on. He does everything other people do, but he does it in the building. He goes to the gym, he goes to the market and to restaurants, he takes classes, he attends meetings, and he interacts with his coworkers. He just does it all from within these thirty floors.”

“Market?”

“We keep weird hours, and Laura’s idea was to have groceries and a few stores open in the building so people could do their shopping at three in the morning if they chose. We have efficiency apartments taking up five floors, so there are a lot of employees who never have to leave if they don’t want to.”

“I had no idea.”

“We poach the best talent when we give them the grand tour.”

“What about Stiles?”

“Stiles is like our bastard son if I’d ever gotten you pregnant.” Chris laughed at Peter’s assessment. “He’s devious and sneaky, never misses a detail, but he’s got a good heart and he’s loyal as Hell.”

“What does he say about Jack?”

“He doesn’t comment on the similarities.”

“Does he know?”

“That Derek is in love with him? Yes. Unfortunately, he’s also aware that Derek may never accept it, so he tries to be realistic.”

“Derek built a FleshBot that looks and acts like Stiles.”

“ _Derek_ believes that he always wanted Jack to have these qualities. He believes that he built an ideal A.I. and that putting a few quirks and habits into a bot based on what you see every day is natural, and that if he lived with Boyd or Erica, he'd probably give Jack their habits.”

“How did it get this far?”

“I indulged Derek. He started seeing the world through a screen, or a pane of glass. Despite his ability to see details the way you do in the people around him he’s dissociated himself from them. He doesn’t see how he fits, and he doesn’t realize that people see him too.”

“Jack is a surrogate? I mean, that’s what FleshBots generally are, but for sex, not a real companion.”

“I think it’s more than that. I think Derek created something he admired. I think he wishes he were more like Stiles. I think he wants people to react to him the way they do to his friend.”

“Stiles lives with him full-time?”

“Derek would never leave his apartment if it weren’t for Stiles. He really brought him out of his shell. That’s when Jack started to take a familiar shape.”

“Stiles doesn’t mind?”

“He knows very well that he has me by the balls if I try to market Jack ‘as-is’. There are laws, you know and he reminded me one day…after hours.” Peter looked wistful. “That was a wonderful conversation.” Chris didn’t ask how the conversation ended.

“Why did you really hire me?”

“I definitely didn’t _not_ want you to find a way to put a better skin on a cheaper frame.” Peter tried to look innocent.

“You want my AIOS.”

“I want your ass. I also want your AIOS.”

“It’s not ready. The AIOS, anyway.”

“I know, you said you’d be ready in about a year. I think you can do it in less than half the time if you work with us.” He leaned back in his chair. “Jack can be our prototype who shakes hands with the investors after we give him a more generic face and tone down the personality. He’ll bring in enough capital to buy your AIOS and your soul for this project.”

“Will Derek let Jack out of the building again?”

“We have more than one frame, but only one real Jack. We have the components for a rougher version, but Jack is two years old, like he said, and he’s learned a lot. The other Jacks won’t be quite as…cheeky.”

“It won’t be the one that looks like me.”

“No, I think I’ll keep that one for myself.” He wiggled his eyebrows but saw Chris’s dark expression. “Kidding! The new frames are still in short supply so he’s being re-skinned.”

“My daughter had better not be the one handling it.”

“Stiles has Erica, our chief artist handling it.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about it.” He frowned. “Did you have an old photo of me, naked?”

“Old dick pic I saved for the spank bank.” Peter shrugged. “I guess I’ve always been nostalgic that way.”

“Do you trust Stiles?”

“Yes. He already has a new skin lined up for that one. I think he’s worried that Derek may decide he’s in love with _you_ , and he’s already competing with one bot for Derek’s attention so he insisted on a redesign. That part thankfully doesn't take very long.”

“Do you seriously think Derek was interested in me?”

“Derek had a professional crush. Honestly, I think it’s why he let Kate close in the first place.” Peter shrugged. “He doesn’t have Daddy issues, or he’d bottom more.”

“I probably don’t need to know why you know that about your nephew.”

“He gives his thoughts to Stiles, and Stiles gives them to the rest of us. Most of the meetings have been about Jack’s ass, not his dick, so that’s a dead giveaway.” He shrugged. “We’re pretty clinical about the whole thing.”

“Honestly, I can’t help thinking you guys have bot orgies.”

“Only when we can’t get tacos on Tuesdays.”

~

_Downstairs…_

Stiles was famished. He didn’t usually eat until lunch, choosing bullet-proof coffee to fuel his morning, and had just put together a toasted, peanut-butter and bacon sandwich to get his afternoon off to a high-protein start. He thought about trying to tempt Derek away from his desk for some fresh air and made a grocery list for their afternoon trip up to the market. He wrapped up his sandwich in a napkin, put two leftover slices of bacon in his mouth and strolled down the hall to the ‘Master Office’. He rolled his eyes when he reached the doorway.

“What was it like?” Derek asked. He was sitting in his desk chair talking to Jack who straddled the arm rests. Jack was naked, as per usual, and Derek had two fingers inside of him.

“It was a different body, so it felt different,” Jack said, breathlessly. “This body is only for you, Derek.”

“You went to bed with my uncle.”

“I had to sleep somewhere,” Jack protested. “I’m not used to sleeping alone. Especially in a new place.”

“How was it?”

“He was more interested in Mr. Argent than me.” Jack whined when Derek’s fingers stopped.

“What?”

“Peter and Chris used to fuck,” Stiles said through a mouthful of bacon. “Why else did you think Jack 2.0 looked like a young version of Chris.”

“What are you eating?” Derek shifted Jack off his lap and the bot went to his knees between Derek’s legs, grumbling about being ‘wound up and left to idle’.

“PB&B.” He walked over to the desk and held out half of the sandwich to Derek who had bot lube on the fingers of one hand and was unbuckling his belt with the other. He took a bite and nodded when Stiles put down one of the napkins and half his sandwich.

“When were they involved?” He took out his cock and Stiles bit into his own half-sandwich as he saw the meaty monster that Derek kept cruelly locked away behind his zipper.

“Don’t know exactly, but I got the impression the ending was…tense.” He watched as Jack eagerly swallowed it down and Derek sighed.

“I missed you, Buddy.” He was talking to Jack with a wistful affection.

“His breathing wasn’t right when you were fingering his ass ,” Stiles said, trying to keep a sour note out of his voice. He placed the rest of his sandwich on Derek’s desk and stalked down the hall. He’d been so close, but Argent _had_ to just burn through the night to finish the updates instead of giving him an extra twenty-four hours alone with Derek. He did some push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups before deciding to take a shower when the exercise did nothing to calm his own frustration. He almost regretted removing Jack 2.0’s skin and sending it to Erica for redesign. Right now he could totally see himself giving the image of Chris a good spanking and then fucking his face. He ran a hand over his forehead; he’d been working with bots too long and needed to get laid by someone with a heartbeat.

Derek had been prowling around restlessly, unnerved by Jack’s absence in the days he was gone. He’d skipped going to the office, saying he was taking vacation days, so Stiles stayed with him for the safety of all mankind. Derek was as ugly as a bear when he was sexually frustrated and Stiles had been counting on the removal of his enabling FleshBot so that he might actually open his eyes to the living, breathing version of his fantasy. He mused that he probably only needed another twenty-four hours alone with Derek before the man crawled out of his proverbial bottle and had a moment of clarity.

Stiles had believed Derek’s ridiculously high sex drive would be one of the things that drove him over the edge and into Stiles’s ~~ass~~ arms. Derek had originally brought up the idea of programming Jack to respond to all erections he encountered, and because of that, Stiles now knew that Derek averaged two to three erections per night because, although he was many things, Derek was not quiet. It wasn’t fair that the hottest, smartest man he’d ever met was completely obsessed with him, but also completely unaware.

Stiles turned on the shower and started getting undressed, tossing his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. He was hangry but had no one to blame but himself for his stupid habit of looking after Derek and neglecting his own needs. He huffed and extricated his erection from his underwear, stepping out of them gingerly.

“Hey.” Derek stood in the doorway to the bathroom that they shared because the en-suite connected to the master office was too close to the computers to risk getting them damp with steam. “What did you mean by that comment about Jack’s breathing?” Stiles tossed his underwear in the hamper, not bothering to hide his erection. There really wasn’t any point in anyone having hang-ups about sex and bodies when they worked in the FleshBot industry, certainly not when you lived with one.

“Just what I said.” He pushed back the shower curtain and held his hand under the water. Derek moved in closer.

“Are you going to jerk off?”

“What the fuck, Derek?”

“Well, I haven’t heard you come in a long time. Can I get the headset?”

“I’m on vacation.” He slung the shower curtain closed and started scrubbing. His hair needed a trim, so he did what any self-respecting man would do and made a shampoo mohawk. He was not surprised when Derek came back in the bathroom.

“Are you stroking your dick or fingering your ass.”

“Go away.”

“I’m coming in there.”

“The shower, or my ass?” Stiles was definitely hangry.

“I have to test the waterproof headset anyway.” Derek was so single-minded, it was maddening. He stripped down and came in wearing the wireless headset and a triumphant expression. “If he sounds wrong when his ass is fingered, I need to know what it’s supposed to sound like.”

“So finger your own ass and record the noises.”

“It doesn’t work when you do it to yourself.” It really didn’t and Stiles knew that. He put his face under the hot water to try and delay the inevitable. “Come on, we used to do this all the time.”

“Yeah, I know,” Stiles burbled under the water.

“I won’t make you do it the other way.”

“Excuse me?” Stiles faced him, mohawk melting under the spray as he fixed Derek with a stare.

“Sorry. I won’t ever make you do something, but you have the best voice for this.” Stiles knew this wasn’t true. He was an acquired taste. Not everyone like the whiny, needy noises he made. It’s why he never got calls back on the rare occasions he managed to hook up at the clubs or online. It could have also been the fact that he lived in a secure building that didn’t allow unauthorized guests. “Come on, Stiles.” He moved in close. “Please? You’ve got the lube right here.”

“Like you don’t jerk off in the shower too.”

“Nah, Jack usually blows me for my wake-up call.” That was it. Stiles was so _Done_. Once he got Jack 2.0 back from Erica, Derek was going to learn something new. For now he let Derek put the headset on him.

“How much do you need?”

“Can we go till the end?”

“Depends on whether or not you’re decent at fingering someone’s ass who isn’t programmed to love everything you do.” _Yup. Hangry._

“Somebody needs a snack.” Derek clicked on the mic and lubed up his fingers. “Still like it the same way?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

~

_Upstairs…_

Peter and Chris walked out of his office several hours later to see Erica snickering to herself. She had her airbrushing wand in her hand and was in front of one of the pedestals for bot finishing. She was very quick about getting skins on and completed now that she’d done it a few times. When she saw Chris, she paused, blinked, looked downwards briefly and then waggled her fingers in a wave.

“Hey boss. Who’s your friend?”

“Shit,” Chris mumbled under his breath. Peter was going to make this Hell.

“Hello Erica! This is my dear, old friend Christopher.” He turned to Chris. “Erica is our head artist and she does lovely work with realistic features.”

“I’ve seen your eye work, it’s remarkable.”

“You should see what I can do with a foreskin.”

“I look forward to it.” In this world there were people who flinched, and people who didn’t. Chris was not a flincher. “What are you working on now?”

“Stiles is next in line for a Jack 2.0. He’s going to try teaching it a different personality than the original. It will take us a few weeks to make each new frame and nervous system until we get our automated plant updated with new specs, so we’re recycling 2.0.” She gestured. “He was a custom piece.” Chris hid a grin when he saw the new skin.

“The likeness is uncanny.” Peter kept his eyes above the waist, clinical thought they might have been about sex in general, he’d changed his nephew’s diapers and didn’t need to see the more ‘finished’ version of him.

“I’ve been working alone so much, I forgot how easy it is to get sucked into office drama.” Chris followed Peter back to the elevator. “You can send me the contract I’ll look it over.”

“Think you might feel like being obscenely wealthy?”

“I’m already doing quite well.” He noted Peter’s use of the fob to return to the residential floor. “Is this where you give me the grand tour?”

“Yes,” Peter said, grinning broadly. They stepped out into the hallway and he went to the apartment at the end of the hall. “Our fitness center is open all night and fully staffed. We have massage therapists, infrared saunas, a pool, and regular classes round-the-clock.” He opened the door to the apartment and turned on the lights. Chris followed with his chin down and shut the door behind him, taking off his shoes.

“Do tell.”

“The market has plenty of fresh produce, and it’s not as large as a regular market, but it’s replenished several times daily. It also supplies the restaurants. We run it like a hotel, really. The residents can have a sit-down meal anytime.” He shed his jacket and dropped it on the floor, backing into the living room as Chris walked towards him.

“Sounds delightful.”

“There’s a daycare center.” Peter held up a finger as he loosened his tie. Chris stepped forward and grabbed it, pulling it over Peter’s head. “Once your precious grand-spawn is born, you’ll be able to go and poke at it’s fat little belly on your breaks.” He kept his smile in place as Chris loosened his belt for him and then sighed when the older man sank to his knees. “I think you’ll be happy…working…here.”

Chris didn’t answer. He had his mouth full.


End file.
